Sept. 27, 2002
Behind a career high 15 kills from Jayme Gergen (Topeka, Kansas) and a career high 21 digs from Marisa Aston (Huntington Beach, Calif.), the No. 25 Georgia Tech volleyball team defeated Maryland in four games, 30-20, 29-31, 30-24, 30-23. With the win, the Yellow Jackets improve to 15-2, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference, while the Terrapins fall to 11-5, 0-1 ACC.
“We’re off to a good start with a good win over a team that has a lot of offense weapons and will certainly make a run for the ACC title,” said head coach Bond Shymansky, who recorded his first career ACC victory tonight. “Our offensive production was solid, but it was inspired by tremendous defensive effort in the backcourt by Marisa Aston and Keight Vincent. We know that when we pass well and play focused defense we will have a lot of success and tonight was one of those nights.”
The Yellow Jackets used a potent offense to win the match, outhitting the Terrapins .326 to .216. Lynnette Moster tallied a team-high 29 kills, followed by Lauren Sauer who had 17. Defensively, Tech outdug Maryland 84 to 64 as Moster, Keight Vincent, Kele Eveland and Jennifer Randall finished the match with double-figure digs. Kele Eveland notched 69 assists in the match.
Behind the serving of Vincent, the Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 8-2 lead in game one. During Vincent’s serving stretch, Moster recorded three of her eight kills in the game. Maryland fought back and took the lead 14-13 on a serving error by Gergen and a hitting error from Sauer. However, Tech came back with two kills from Alexandra Preiss and a block by Gergen and Moster to post an 18-16 lead. The Jackets then went on a 12-4 scoring run to finish the game out, 30-20.
In game two, the Terrapins built a 8-5 lead on three kills from Jennifer Dewalt and two kills from Carey Brennan. The Jackets fought back to tie the game at 8-8 on a kill and an ace from Moster and a kill from Laura Kuhn. But, Maryland put together its own run, scoring on two kills and a serving ace from Lynnsey Jones. Tech then tied the game at 21-21 on kills from Gergen, Sauer and Moster. A hitting error from Sauer gave the Terrapins a 28-25 lead, but Preiss recorded two kills to make the score 27-28. A ball handling error by Lindsey Davey and a stuff block by Preiss and Moster tied the score at 29-29. However, a questionable lift call and a serving ace by Jones gave the Terrapins game two, 31-29.
Both teams came out playing well in game three, with the score being tied seven times. With the score 12-12, Tech scored points on kills from Gergen, Aston, Moster and a Terrapin hitting error to take a 16-12 lead. Maryland fought back to make the score 21-22, but kills from Preiss and Moster and a hitting error from Jones gave Tech a 25-22 lead. The Jackets would go on to win game three, 30-24 as Moster and Gergen each recorded kills.
The Jackets carried their momentum into game four, building a 10-4 lead on the serve of Gergen and three straight kills from Sauer. Two kills from Moster and a stuff block by Moster and Gergen extended Tech’s lead to 17-10 and the Jackets never looked back, continuing to have success with their offense. The Terrapins fought back at the end of the game, but it was not enough as Tech won 30-23.
The Yellow Jackets return to action against Virgina Saturday at 7 p.m. in University Hall.
